Fotoğrafçı Jo-Ann Stokes

—Fotojenik olduğunuzu düşünüyor musunuz?

—Unfortunately not ....but probably best that I am not because it makes me try extra hard to make my couples feel comfortable in front of the lens and capture beautiful photographs that they will love of themselves.

—Fotoğrafçılık endüstrisine nasıl giriş yaptınız?

—Purely by accident to be honest! My trip into photography started by documenting my life, my kids and then into landscape photography. A friend saw my photos, told her friend who was getting married and they contacted me and asked me to do their wedding. I explained that I had never done a wedding but they were fine with that. I loved it ....and the rest ...is history! And my first clients are still one of my biggest fans!

—Sizce iyi bir fotoğrafın en önemli bileşenleri nelerdir?

—A photograph that touches your soul ...no matter the composition, the editing etc ...that makes for a good photo ...no actually, that makes for a "great" photo ....but if all you want is good ..then good composition, good lighting and good posing would make a good photo .....I continuously strive to take a "great" photo.

—Seyahat etmeyi sever misiniz?

—Do you seriously have to ask? I "love" to travel ...it feeds my soul, opens my eyes, enriches my life and makes me appreciate everything that God created for us.

—Mesleğinizle ilgili en sevdiğiniz şey nedir?

—The creativity ...if you can visualise it ....you can photograph it! The continious learning curve....there are new things to learn all the time! I am continiously challenged and excited by my profession.

—Mesleğinizin en zor tarafı nedir?

—The admin!! Wish we were taking photographs 100% of the time ...unfortunately its only a small portion of our workload. And selling myself ...I find it so hard to do!

—Fotoğrafçılığının geleceği konusunda neler düşünüyorsunuz?

—There will alwasy be a future for wedding photography ...people will continously fall in love and want to get married and start families of that I have no doubt ....I think how we photograph weddings will stay fundamentally the same ..but the way we grab our image might change. I see change coming in the fact that we will film the wedding and grab our photographs from the video ...and I am excited about that because a hair breadth of a second can make all the difference to an image.

—Uzmanlaştığınız fotoğrafçılık türünü özel kılan şey nedir?

—Wedding photography is special because it makes you forget all the bad things in the world for a few brief moments. It makes you believe that the world is all rosy, full of love and that there is bright future ahead and there is truth in fairytales and the "happy ever after"

—Eleştiriler karşısında yaklaşımınız nasıl oluyor?

—Well I am a creative ...so lets just say ...it can hurt! But I am also open-minded so I can take a step back and look at it through that persons eyes and see if their criticism is valuable. Good criticism is worth its weight in gold!

—Fotoğrafçılığı ile ilgili yeni trendler var mı?

—There are always trends in photography! The question needs to be asked ..how will your images look in 30 years ...will the trend stand the test of time. Quality, timeless photography will never date.

—Müşteriler fotoğrafçı seçerken ne gibi kriterleri göz önünde bulundurmalıdırlar?

—Initially the couple should love the photography ...it should speak to them. But the most important criteria is that you like your photographer and feel comfortable with them....you will spend a large part of your day with this person in your space ..its best that you like them.

—Fotoğraf çekimi sırasında kesinlikle izin vermeyeceğiniz şeyler nelerdir?

—Cheesy!

—Bir fotoğrafçı diğerlerinin görmediği hangi detayları yakalayabilir?

—We can see moments that develop and are waiting for them to happen.

—Fotoğrafın değerini belirleyen şey nedir? Ne gibi unsurları vardır?

—The emotion, the impact of the image!

—Sizce 21. yüzyılın sembolü kim olabilir?

—The co-founders of google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin. And our very own, Nelson Mandela!

—Kimi fotoğraflamak istersiniz?

—My next bride!

—Mesleğinizle ilgili tabularınız var mı?

—One or two ...nudity is not my thing!

—Birlikte fotoğraf çekmek istediğiniz birisi var mı?

—Thats a tough one ...Jose Villa, ..I love his pastel, airy, film look but I also love the dark, moody look from Susan Stripling.

—Hangi konularda endişeleriniz var ve neden?

—I worry about my children ...I am first and foremost a Mom! From a wedding photographers perspective ..that I lose a wedding due to faulty cards, crashing computers & harddrives. I have made every provision to safeguard my clients weddings but it is natural to worry about their images.

—Hayatınızda sizi en çok etkileyen an?

—The birth of my sons. Everything else pales into insignificance in comparison to those moments.

—Çizgi film, edebiyat veya sinema karakteri olsaydınız nasıl bir karakter olmak isterdiniz, neden?

—I am enjoying the character, Elizabeth McCord from Madam Secretary at the moment. She handles problems with intelligence, respect and sensitivity in very fragile situations.

—Hayatınızda size ilham veren birisi var mı? Neden?

—My family inspire me ...they inspire me to be better...they inspire me to prove to them that life is for living and that you make your own destiny with the choices and decisions that you make. Every action has a reaction. Mistakes are not always bad as the experience it teaches you is sometimes more valuable that getting something 100% correct.

—Kısaca başarıyı tanımlar mısınız? Başarıyı nasıl ölçersiniz?

—A successful person is a person who has balance in their life! A happy marriage, family life & career ..is my definition of success! Only having a successful career with money in the bank ...can make for a very lonely/empty life.

—Beğenilmeyi mi yoksa saygınlığı mı tercih edersiniz?

—Neither ....I would prefer to be loved!

—Bugüne kadar işinizle ilgili yaptığınız en büyük hatanız nedir?

—When I worked in banking ....I paid a rather large sum of money into the wrong persons account!

—Bir seyahate giderken yanınıza alacağınız şey nedir? Niçin?

—My camera and a lens ...do I need anything more?

—Kullandığınız cihazlar arasında keşke satın almasaydım dediğiniz bir cihaz var mı? Neden?

—a few items ...too numerous to mention

—Daha iyi fotoğraflar çekmek adına kendinizi nasıl geliştiriyorsunuz?

—I attend workshops, watch videos, practice, practice, practice!

—Bir fotoğrafçısı olarak çalışmalarından en çok etkilendiğiniz kişi kimdir?

—Many of my photographer friends have in their own small way influenced me. Each one has at some stage dropped a pearl of wisdom on my eager ears.

—Fotoğraf çekmeye başladığınızda bilmeyi istediğiniz en önemli şey nedir?

—I initially started to play around with a camera when i was a teenager ...I wish I had figured out then, that this was the career that I loved.

—Fotoğraflarınızda neleri anlatmak istersiniz?

—I am not big into props ....I prefer the people in my photographs to be the focal point. It is their essence, emotions that tell the story.

—Neler fotoğraf çekme arzunuzu motive ediyor?

—I dont think there is anything that motivates me to continue to take photos ....I think it is an extension of who I am ...even when I dont have my camera with me ...I am still framing photos in my eye and taking a mental photo of a scene.

—Ailem daha otoriter veya daha özgürlükçü olmalıydı diye hiç düşündünüz mü?

—They were perfect. I like the way I turned out ...lol!

—Geçmişe gidebilseydin neyi değiştirmeyi isterdin?

—Nothing ...if i went back in time to change anything ...then my outcome might be very different to where I am now ....and I kind of like where I am now. And if I had actually done photography from a teenager then my people skills would not have been developed. I believe there was a reason for only discovering my love for photography later on.

—Diğer gezegenlerde de yaşam olduğunu düşünüyor musunuz?

—Possible ...but have no interest in finding out ...its bad enough controlling the human race that we have here ...we sure as heck dont need the headache of another race somewhere else.

—Herhangi bir kahramanınız var mı?

—There are no heroes ....everyone is only human ...we all err on this road we call life. There are people who I respect i.e Nelson Mandela, FW De Klerk, Mother Theresa, Pope Francis, Thuli Madonsela

—Kime saygı duymazsınız?

—Dictators, bad politicians, criminals, children and animal abusers! Our president, Jacob Zuma, Stupidity, Robert Mugabe.

—Boş zamanlarınızda neler yaparsınız?

—My hubby has a Harley Davidson motorbike and we often will go on road trips around the Cape and needless to say ...I take photos. I enjoy socialising with fellow photographers. I walk in a farm close to my house with my dogs.

—Diğer insanların hiç bilmediği farklı bir yönünüz var mı?

—They dont see me stressed or worried. I show a calm face to the outside world and behind the scenes I make a plan. I also have a wicked sense of humour that I try to keep in check.

—Şu ana kadar tam olarak tatmin olduğun bir çalışma oldu mu?

—I wish I knew the answer ...then i would create a formula and stick to it ..but there again then I might end up being bored!

—Kadınların ve erkeklerin geleneksel rolleri hakkında neler düşünüyorsunuz?

—Yes and no ....I believe women can do anything they put their minds too ...but I also believe that men are traditionally the hunters and do not enjoy being the hunted. Let them enjoy the chase.

—İnsanlarla hemen arkadaş olabilir misiniz?

—Very easily. I can chat to complete strangers wherever I am.

—Nerede yaşamayı isterdiniz?

—If I couldnt live in Cape Town for whatever reason ...then I would go to the next extreme and live in London ...but only if I had a lot of money ;)

—Kesinlikle yapmayı kabul etmediğiniz en aptalca şey nedir?

—A nude shoot

—Evlilik sonrası hayat konusunda neler düşünüyorsunuz?

—lol ...yes, definitely! I have done more and had more fun with my husband than with any other human being. He is the one who has my back, who I rely on, who I can be real with, who accepts me for who I am ...who will look after me when I am sick or sad ....to lend a Greys Anatomy line ..."he is my person" ...but yes there were times when I could have lovingly strangled his neck..he definitely still knows how to push my buttons!

—Çok sevdiğiniz bir fıkra var mı? Eğer varsa bizimle paylaşır mısınız?

—Yes ..I do ...but I think it might be a bit too dirty for a wedding blog ...especially for people considering getting married ...lol! Only old married couples would find it amusing!

—Kedileri veya köpekleri sever misiniz?

—Dogs ...grew up with them all my life! My dad was allergic to cats ..so was never allowed to have one ....so not too sure if I would have loved cats more!

—Kimden veya ne yapmaktan nefret edersiniz?

—People who are rigid and the world is black and white and do not see outside the box.

—Hayatınızdaki en iyi şey:

—free!

—Hayatınızdaki en sinir bozucu şey:

—People who do not listen

—Çevrenizde değiştirmek istediğiniz bir şeyler var mı?

—Yes, our incompetent government!

—Kendinizde neyi değiştirmek isterdiniz?

—I wish I had more time!

—Dünyadaki neleri değiştirmek isterdiniz?

—Evil

—Fotoğrafçılığına yeni başlayanlar için birkaç ipucu verebilirsiniz?

—Be unique ...find your own style ....do not be like sheep and copy everyone else! Trust in the way you see the world ..you will develop!

—Uzaylılar dünyaya gelse ve onların karşısına çıkan ilk kişi siz olsanız, onlara ne derdiniz?

—If you know whats good for you ...turn around and run in the opposite direction

—Sizden bir film çekmeniz istenseydi, bu ne tür bir film olurdu?

—A romance or a drama

—Yarın yapacağım...

—some food shopping, a maternity shoot, some editing ...watch our national rugby team , the Springboks play their first game at the Rugby World Cup 15 in England against Japan!